the Secretary of State acknowledged that more needs to be done on home insulation, following a highly critical report by climate advisers.
Climate advisers have warned of a “shocking” gap in government efforts to ensure homes are better insulated in the face of rising energy bills.
Kwasi Kwarteng defended the Government’s record on climate change on Wednesday night, while also indicating that a new scheme on insulation could be in the pipeline.
Mr Kwarteng said the government had ambitious targets for things like offshore wind, but acknowledged there were “challenges” in areas such as isolation.
He was asked about the gap between the government’s ambition and real policy on ITV’s Peston program, where he also had questions about the proposed Cumbrian coal mine.
“We had a few bites of this cherry in terms of home insulation,” he said.
“One of the problems we have is that we have the oldest house stock in Western Europe.
“Our homes are generally on average older and less energy efficient than many on average in many European countries, and this is mainly for historical reasons.
“And we have a real challenge there.
“And that’s why we want to look at energy efficiency schemes.”
He said the government hoped it could get another energy efficiency scheme “underway”.
The Climate Change Committee’s latest report warns that the government’s plans to tackle global warming will not meet the legal targets to reduce emissions in the coming decades.
And the Independent Advisory Committee singled out energy efficiency to make British homes less leaky and cheaper to heat, coupled with a lack of action on farm emissions, as specific problem areas.
In its annual report to Parliament on the progress made in tackling the UK’s contribution to climate change, the committee called for action to address the rising cost of living that is in line with reducing emissions to zero on everything. , known as net zero, by 2050.
A rapid, sustained push to improve energy efficiency in homes and switch to electric heating, such as heat pumps, to reduce fossil fuel consumption will help people cope with high energy prices, he said.
Making homes better insulated is absolutely a critical factor, especially when we are experiencing such high energy prices
The average annual energy bill for UK households is around £ 40 more than it would have been if isolation had continued at rates seen before policy support was removed in 2012, and UK homes are among the most heat-leaking in Europe.
The report calls on the Government to consider increased funding for energy efficiency in low-fuel homes, as well as a widespread publicity campaign for its promised new energy advisory service and policies to encourage homeowners to improve their properties.
The committee also said it supports shifting the cost of historic green subsidies from electricity bills and to general taxation to cut energy costs and encourage people to move to electric heat pumps.
But more recent arrangements for paying for renewable energy are saving consumers money through cheap wind power.
The installation of insulation measures “fell off a cliff” a decade ago, said the committee’s chief executive Chris Stark.
He described the situation as a “complete story of woe”, with an industry devastated by the removal of aid in 2012 which is expected to gear up again and consumers are expected to demand energy efficiency without any policy measures to support.
“We call it shocking, that’s what it is,” he said.
“We absolutely have to do something about this on a scale; Making houses more insulated is absolutely a critical factor, especially when we are experiencing such high energy prices. ”
There has never been a better time to insulate your home, with gas prices at the levels it is, the pressure on imports and energy security
Mr Stark said there were better ways to deal with high energy prices than the package of payments announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who, according to him, should support isolation to save on bills.
Mike Thompson, director of analysis at the CCC, said: “There has never been a better time to insulate your home, with gas prices at the levels they are, the pressure on imports and energy security.
“This is the time for the government to be brave and help people do what many people want to do anyway,” he said.
Asked about the criticism of BBC Radio 4’s PM program, Greg Hands, Minister of Energy and Clean Growth, could not say whether the UK would build houses that would have to be repaired later.
“The report was published today and I will have to look into that particular charge,” he said.
Referring to a figure of £ 6.6 billion in the course of this parliament, Mr Hands said there was a lot of public money going into energy efficiency.
“What I would say is that we have made great progress in terms of our existing home inventory over the past decade,” he added.
According to the annual report, UK greenhouse gases are now close to half (47%) of their 1990 levels, with emissions rising by 4% in 2021 as the economy of Covid-19 began to recover but still 10% below 2019 levels.
For the first time this year, the committee has outlined progress on a series of changes to the soil that need to be made across society to keep the UK on track to end its contribution to climate change.
Of 50 key areas for action, only eight have been given the green light to be clearly on course to deliver the necessary emission reductions, including electric car sales, wind and solar power, and meat consumption.
Areas judged to be significantly off-track include electric van sales, charging points, energy efficiency upgrades, new bushveld creation and turf repair.
Amid a cost-of-living crisis, the country is screaming to end its dependence on expensive fossil fuels
There were significant risks with the delivery of 33% of the emission reductions needed, and plans are completely or currently clearly insufficient for a further 5% of pollution reductions needed to meet the legal “sixth carbon budget” in the 2030s.
Achieving the sixth carbon budget requires a 78% reduction in climate pollution at 1990 levels by 2035, towards the net zero target.
The report also warns that the public is increasingly concerned about climate change, but that people are not sure how they can best act, with greater public involvement needed.
Lord Deben, chairman of the CCC, said the government should provide people with the information they need in areas such as insulating homes, which he says is not the “caretaker state”, and should work with local authorities to increase energy efficiency. liver.
He added: “The UK is a champion in setting new climate goals; now we must be world-breakers to redeem them.
“In the midst of a cost of living crisis, the country is shouting to end its dependence on expensive fossil fuels.
“I welcome the government’s restored commitment to net zero, but holes need to be plugged into its strategy as a matter of urgency.”
He rated the government nine out of 10 for the targets he set, but only four out of 10 for carrying out action against climate change.